


Lifeline

by Mistflyer1102



Category: Captain America (Comics)
Genre: Blood as associated with accident scenes., Gen, Working with first responders, paramedics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 08:36:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistflyer1102/pseuds/Mistflyer1102
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heroes don't always wear capes and masks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifeline

It was late. 

Steve Rogers, Captain America to the public, left the briefing room aboard the helicarrier and headed toward where the hovercars were usually kept.  The debriefing for the disastrous Kronas op finished with an argument between two participants, and he’d managed to get the hovercar keys from Sharon Carter so he could head home and let Fury sort out that mess. 

He had no difficulty finding the car in question; not only was it where Sharon said it would be, but her jacket was still in the passenger seat.  Deciding to return it later, he activated the car’s engines and took flight.

It was around 0030 hours by the time he actually found the correct street in the air and carefully landed.  He guided the vehicle to the main street, but nearly got clipped by a dark-colored sedan that was packed with laughing teenagers.  Shaking his head at their carelessness, he pulled down his uniform’s hood before pulling out into the street, heading in the direction of his apartment.

Squealing brakes and an accelerating engine caught his attention almost five minutes later.  He almost assumed it to be a collision with a small animal, but what tipped him off otherwise was the eerie silence that descended onto the neighborhood.  Frowning, he accelerated in the direction of the sounds, all thoughts of sleep and returning home forgotten.

From the street lamps lining the road, Steve spotted a prone figure lying sprawled on the sidewalk.  As he pulled up, careful to leave distance between him and the accident, he noticed a smaller figure huddled by the lamppost.  Keeping the car’s lights on, Steve grabbed Sharon’s jacket and jumped out of the car.  The child, seeing him coming, retreated from him.  Noting the child’s small size, he asked, “Is this your parent?”

The boy eyed him then said, “My mommy.”

Steve nodded before kneeling down beside the woman, who was lying still on her back.  A quick check showed that while faint, she still had a pulse.  “Stay there, all right?” he said to the boy before pulling his phone out and dialing 911.  While he did have battlefield medical training, he didn’t think it would be enough for the situation at hand. 

The 911 operator was patient with him as Steve explained the situation while trying to stop the blood.  Ripping the jacket into strips, he created temporary tourniquets to use.  If he had to guess by looking at the damage, the offending vehicle had struck the victim’s side, causing internal and external bleeding.

He heard the paramedics a few moments before they actually arrived.  So he didn’t react when he heard the ambulance pull up behind him and activate a floodlight to illuminate the scene better. He only paused in his work when the victim let out a rasping sound and the child whimpered. 

Somehow, jacket turned to cloth as he kept working.  Confused at the change in material, he looked up to see that he wasn’t alone; an EMT was kneeling on the woman’s other side.  She glanced up, and he saw her nametag read ‘Molly Rider’.  She said, “You’re doing all right.  Just watch the pressure of the tourniquets against the body.”

He nodded silently and finished his task. Then she said, “Please hold this still.”

He took the makeshift bandage in her hands and kept applying pressure to the injury to slow down the blood flow.  Molly felt the woman’s pulse as another paramedic, Roscoe, arrived with the kit.  “She had a medical card in her purse, morphine is okay,” Roscoe said before injecting the painkiller into a vein. 

“Okay… Captain, are you capable of carrying another person?” Molly asked, making eye contact with Steve.

“Yes ma’am,” he replied.

“Good.  Roscoe, get her feet.  The stretcher is behind you, Captain.  Step over it and set her down, Roscoe and I will help.”  Molly moved behind the woman’s head, as Steve got ready for the move.  “Okay, on my mark…now!”

As gently as possible, Steve supported the woman’s torso in synchronization with Molly and Roscoe.  Stepping over the stretcher, he lowered the victim down as Molly kept pace.  He centered the victim before lowering her onto the stretcher.  Then he began strapping the patient down on his side while Molly did the other side.  Then Molly shouted, “Okay folks!  Get her in _and go_!

Steve moved to assist, but stopped when Molly put a hand on his shoulder.  “Her fate is in our hands, Captain, there’s nothing else you can do.  But…thank you.  For calling in this hit-and-run and for your assistance,” she said, and Steve nodded in silent understanding as the paramedics took the stretcher.

“Will she make it?”

“Hopefully.  She’s lucky; hit-and-runs sometimes don’t get called in until hours later.  The police will watch the child until we find his family,” she added, watching the boy walking away with an officer.  She glanced in the direction of the ambulance’s departure. “I’ll stay with the police.  Officer Peters has a few questions for you, and then you can go.”

Steve nodded, and turned to the officer in question.

It wasn’t until he was heading home later that he realized that he was covered in blood and street grit.  It wasn’t the first time someone else’s blood ended up on him, and tonight wasn’t going to be the last.

He was sure of it.


End file.
